1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to pre-mortared masonry panels and, more particularly, to a machine for continuous casting of pre-mortared masonry panels.
2. Description of the Related Art
Bricks are the oldest man made building material of early civilization. The method of making bricks has improved, but the installation is still done “one brick at a time” as it was 5,000 years ago. This basic inefficiency has inspired the making of many other materials and systems that are more efficient to make and install. However, the look and beauty of brick material continues to be the most desirable, thus the need to make the installation of brick materials more efficient. The 20th Century saw many of these innovations. One of these is the use of structural steel that made construction of skyscrapers possible. Before structural steel, brick was the structural element that supported other building elements. Brick and stone used in conventional construction are now classified as “skin” elements. Light gage steel backup further eliminated the need for structural brick and thus 4″ brick is classified as a “brick veneer”. This innovation comes with many problems. The brick has only a bed width of 4″ and is tied back to the structural framing with an air cavity between it and the backup substrate. Structural wind loads rely on ties made of thin 9 Gage galvanized wire and treaded screws. These light gage components will eventually rust and much of what has been constructed will fail and have to be repaired or replaced, thus the need to improve on the common art.
There are other thin brick panel systems that are marketed as labor saving brick panels but require trained skilled personnel. Some of these systems, first made in the 1940's are similar to U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,630 to Francis et al. that describes a method of producing a thin brick panel assembly on rigid foam insulation. For this panel assembly, skilled workers are needed to install a backup liner, attach each brick by hand, and fill all the brick joints using a grout bag. Each of the grouted joints then need to be tooled (formed in a concave profile) and the panels cleaned. This labor intensive method make this type of brick panel non-competitive except in special renovations where the brick look is desired but conventional brick masonry is not an option. They are not sold to the residential market because conventional 4″ brick veneer can cost less. These assemblies rely on an anchor that is integral with the thin amount of mortar surrounding it. The joint material dries too quickly and tends to crack. Failure is inherent in its construction. Thus, there is a need to make a panel that is pre-mortared using polymeric grout in the joints, filling the space between bricks, and forming a backup substrate that adds strength to the thin brick panels.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,644,719 Salazar discloses a decorative wall panel in which bricks are placed face down at the bottom of a mold and cement mixture is hand placed on the back side of the bricks forming a backing, but still requires cleaning of the excess mortar on the brick face. In addition the Salazar '719 patent discloses the use of Portland cement, sand, and pigmented binder and not a fast curing polymer concrete. U.S. Pat. No. 3,335,048 to Morain discloses a mosaic tile assembly having a tiled plate and not pre-mortared masonry panels. U.S. Pat. No. 3,521,418 to Batoloni discloses a pre-finished decorative rigid panel that requires a joint grouting step and does not teach the polymeric cementatious material. U.S. Pat. No. 3,350,827 to Sugar discloses a building panel and not pre-mortared masonry panels. The German Patent No. 27-17-377 to Meirich discloses a composite pre-molded facing for a building wall with plastic hand poured into a molding tray and a plastic panel and not a pre-mortared masonry panel.
Therefore, the “in place cost” of brick is the most important factor that differentiates “one brick at a time” methods to any other brick panel system. Thus, it is desirable to automate brick panel production so as to lower the cost of the installation. It is also desirable to continuously cast pre-mortared masonry panels. Thus, there is a need in the art to provide a machine that meets at least one of these desires.